The Fells - Cath Staincliffe - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Cath Staincliffe

SERIES: Detectives Donovan & Young, #1

GENRE: Police Procedural.

PUBLICATION DATE: May 9, 2024

RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A police procedural focussed on discovering the truth about a crime that occurred two decades ago, as well as on the personal lives of the key characters. Most of the book was good enough but not gripping enough for me. But the ending was surprising and not over the top, which nudged up my rating. A good, one-time read. First of a planned series.

Plot Preview:

2019. Yorkshire Dales. When a caver stumbles upon the remains of a body inside a previously unknown pothole beneath the fells, Detective Leo Donovan wonders if they have finally discovered the remains of Vicky Mott, a twenty-year-old drama student who went missing in 1997 after scrawling a note for her friends that she was going to see the sunrise. There had been a serial killer active in the area, and soon after Vicky’s disappearance, the “fellside strangler” had been arrested. This discovery of Vicky’s body might provide closure for her mother after all the years of anguish. But as Donovan and his new assistant Shan Young investigate the remains, some secrets come tumbling out, until they are no longer sure about what the truth is.

The story comes to us in the third-person perspectives of various characters in the 2019 timeline, including the two detectives and Vicky’s mother Elizabeth, and also in Vicky’s third person perspective from 1997.

As a police procedural about an old crime resurrected with a new discovery, the book is pretty standard. You have the fresh evidence, the renewed speculations, the culpability of the potential suspects vis-à-vis the captured strangler, the unravelling of old theories, the revelation of the incompetency of the past investigation, the thinking and rethinking of old clues with a novel insight, and the final resolution. The tempo is fairly pacy almost all the way.

However, there are certain features that made this book stand out from typical procedurals, some of which work and some don’t.

👉 Giving the victim a voice – Reading Vicky’s third person perspective makes for a strange experience as the 2019 timeline offers some contrary insights about her fate. This writing decision led to some spoilers before the police detectives stumble on the truth, but overall, it adds to the story in a bizarre, almost voyeuristic, way.

👉 Most of the technical investigation happens in the background. Whether DNA checks or forensic analysis, hardly anything occurs on the page. We just get to read conversations with results of the investigative reports or interviews with family and suspects. So the thrill factor of being part of an active investigation was missing.

👉 The detailed look at the personal lives of the two detectives: the experienced Leo Donovan, who is struggling to handle his radical son, and his new investigative partner Shan Young, who seems to tick many trope checkpoints: Chinese origin, adopted, lesbian, in a committed relationship that swings between good and bad at the drop of a hat, pregnant. I think at least a third of the book is dedicated to the personal lives of these two characters, which gives us a great insight into their personalities but also adds much domestic drama to a genre that doesn’t need it.

👉 Shan Young is also a novelty because unlike most new detective recruits, Young isn’t cast as a genius protégé who handles everything perfectly. She makes wild assumptions, she jumps to conclusions based on flimsy evidence, and she doesn’t know how to curtail info during investigative interviews. At the same time, she also isn’t a bumbling newbie who somehow hits the right answer. It is clear how the experienced Leo has a lot to teach her, and their partnership will be interesting to follow in the subsequent books.

👉 The Yorkshire location was put to good use, especially during the chilling cave sequences. But other than this, the atmosphere felt off. I never felt captivated to the point of no distraction; the writing of the investigation somehow kept me distanced.

👉 The author truly shines in the emotional sequences. There are many touching moments in the writing, such as when Vicky's mother comes to see the newly-discovered skeletal remains. Rarely have I seen deep feelings captured so well in a police procedural.

👉 The ending is apt for the story. Without going into spoilers, all I can say is that this was among the most realistic endings I have seen in thrillers about new evidence in old crimes. Best of all, no annoying infodump.

All in all, the story was definitely good, the ending was great, and nothing annoyed me too much (which, if you know me, is a minor miracle.) However, for some reason I can’t figure out, the book never caught my unwavering attention and I could keep it aside easily.

One factor that I know hindered my enjoyment was that I didn’t like any of the characters in the 1997 timeline, partly because of the hazy character sketches (that we get through Vicky’s limited perspective), and partly because of their lifestyle choices. (Which is more of a ME problem than a BOOK problem.)

This is the first book of a planned procedural series with Detectives Donovan and Young, and as of now, I am undecided about whether I’ll read the next book. I like the balance to be tilted more towards the police investigation than towards family drama when I read this genre. So I guess it will depend on my mood whenever the next one comes out.

(That said, if I ever see this author writing a dramatic novel such as women’s fiction or historical fiction, I will definitely grab it because she is fabulous at portraying raw emotions.)

Recommended to lovers of police procedurals and crime mysteries. This is not a must-read, but a pretty good one, with the ending being the highlight.

I was at 3 stars for most of the way, but the ending satisfied me much with its realism, hence 3.5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through The Pigeonhole. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.